Inflatable article form



Sept. 8, 1936. J. J. LEE

INFLATABLE ARTICLE FORM Filed July 25, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J/waymz wm, M

Sept. 8, 1936. LEE 1 2,053,372

INFLATABLE ARTICLE FORM Filed July 25, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J/ws/vmeJZaH/v J LE5 I (find-QM 0%:

Patented Sept. 8, 1936 U'NITEDLSTATES PATENT, OFFICE INFLATABLE ARTICLEFORM John J. Lee, Sandusky, Ohio. assign or to The Barr Rubber ProductsCompany, Sandusky, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio I Application July 25,1934', Serial No. 736,921

8 Claims. (01. 18,-41)

This invention relates to a new and improved form for use in theproduction of inflatable articles, such as toys, for example, and hasfor certain of its objects the provision of a form which is simple,enables the production of articles superior to those produced by presentday forms and methods, and is relatively inexpensive in comparison withthe results obtained in the use thereof. v r

This application is' a' continuation in part of my copending applicationSerial No. 698,646, filed November 18, 1933.

An object of the invention is to provide aflexible or collapsible moldor form simulating an article to be produced whereby it will be possibleto produce inflatable articles of a type which has heretofore beenpractically impossible to produce.

Another object of the invention is to provide a form or mold by means ofwhich it will be possible -to produce inflatable articles which areseamless. A further object is to provide a form or mold 'upon whichinflatable articles may be'produced by a dipping process employingliquid latex, rubber, balata, resins or similar substances, as dis:tinguished from the present methods of diecutting calender-ed rubber. 7

Another object is to provide a form or mold upon which may be producedinflatable articles simulating animals in which the legs are separateanddistinct so that the article when inflated is capable of standing in itsnatural position without any other means of support.

The invention may be briefly summarized as consisting in the provisionof a new form or mold upon which inflatable articles may be produced,

as hereinafter described and claimed. p

arrangement of the legs of the article and the manner in which the moldis arranged therein.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a form or mold embodying the invention,said form or mold simulating a different animal from that shown in Figs.1 and 2, namely, a giraffe.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a different inflatable article from thatshown in the-previous views. the

form or mold being illustrated as arranged within the article.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of an inflatable article simulating a catand shows the article after the mold or form has been removed therefrom.

Fig. 7 illustrates the mold or form used in the production of thearticles shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 illustrates a flexible or collapsible mold or form embodying theinvention and made of a rubber material.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a mold or form embodyingthe present invention and having embossed or raised portions thereon.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View of a mold or formembodying the invention and provided with a depressed portion.

, In the drawings Fig. 1'is illustrative of an inflated article 20simulating a dog and produced on a former mold embodying the inventionas will be hereinafter described} To begin the explanation it willprobably be well to explain that the form and method'employed producearticles adapted for inflation Without distortion or substantialdistortion. In other words, an inflatable article is one which isadapted to be inflated to its normal limit without subjecting the rubberto overexpansion as distinguished from the ordinary type of rubberballoon or similar article which is subject to distortion uponinflation. The dog 20 has a plurality of legs 2| formed integral withthebody portion and also made hollow so as to be inflatable. When thedog is inflated it is adaptedto be supported by the legs 2| in anupright position to resemble a natural animal as muchas possible. Ears22,made of rubber, are secured at 23 to the head portion of the dog bymeans of a suitable adhesive or any other suitable'means in such amanner as to permit the ears to move. At the rear portion of the dogthere is provided a tail 24 of hollow construction so that when the sameis inflated it will remain in a predetermined position and in the end ofthe tail 24 an inflating device 25 of the usual'type is secured.

In Fig." 2 a form 26 is shown simulating the dog 2B, shown'in Fig. 1 andfrom which it will be readily apparent thatthe size of the form 26 issubstantlally the same as the size of the inflated dog 20. The form 26comprises a body member 21, an integral tail portion 28 and dependingleg portions 29, there being a pair of front legs and a pair of hindlegs extending laterally as shown in Fig. 3. 'The upper portions ofthese legs are provided with substantially circular extensions 30. whichare secured'to the body portion 21 by an adhesive or other suitablemeans. The legs 29 are maintained in separated position, as shown inFig. 3, by means of inverted V-shaped spacers 3| which extendlongitudinally between the legs 29 and the adjacent portion of the body21, the spacers being secured thereto by an adhesive or any othersuitable means. At the rear portion of the body 21 is an extension 32vwhich serves as a means by which the form 26 may be submerged. Aroundthe edges of the circular portions 33 a filler is employed so as toprovide a tapering surface between the outer surfaces of the portions 33and the adjacent outer surfaces ofgthe body 21' so that form marks orblemishes will not appear. on the ultimate article.

The form 26 may be made of any suitable flexible or collapsiblematerial, as for example, a filled manila paper of sufficient rigidityto. be submerged in a rubber solution and is of a non-reusable andcollapsible type for reasons which will be later described. While thistype of form may be used for carrying out the purpose of the method,other types of forms may be employed wherein the same result isobtained;

In practicing the method the form 26 is submerged in a liquid rubbersolution such as liquid latex, although dispersions of rubber, balata,resins or similar substances may be substituted, by holding theextension 32 and submerging the form so as to apply a rubber coatingupon the form as indicated by' 33. This liquid rubber solution may be ofany desired color. The form 26 is main.- tained in the rubber solutionfor therequired length of time, depending upon the thickness ofrubberwhich is desired and is: then. withdrawn and permitted to dry atroom temperature. for a period of approximately thirty minutes.Preferably, the form with the rubber coating thereon is then. cured byplacing the same in, an oven for a further period of approximatelythirty minutes at a temperature of approximately 180 F., al though othermethods may be employed. After therubber coating upon the form is cured,the form 26. is removed from therubber article by withdrawing the formthrough the opening 34 provided in the article by the extension 32. Theremoval of the form 25 is made possible and easily accomplished due to.the flexibility or destructibility of' the form, inasmuch as the theform may be crumbled inside of the rubber article, and thus materiallyreduced in size so that it may be easily withdrawn through the opening34. The rubber extension 35 surrounding the form extension 32 at one endof the dog adjacent the tail 24' is then trimmed off by any desired tooland the adjacent edges are secured together by an adhesive to provide anair-tight seal 36, as shown in Fig. 1; It will be noted that the.article or dog, asin this case, is otherwise seamless which adds lifeand strength to the article as there are no seams which are subject towear and resultant breakage. The end of the tail 24 is provided with anopening and the inflating device 25, already referred to, is securedtherein so-that the article or dog may be inflated." When the article ordog 20' isinflated, the legs 2|, being hollow, are likewise inflatedand, due to the construction of the form heretofore explained, remain inan extended and separated position relatively so that the dog may standotherwise unsupported upon its legs.

To facilitate the stripping operation of the rubber article from theform 26-", the latter may be treated in a solution known asacoagulantor'similar material known in the art, which prevents any tendency of theliquid rubber solution adhering to the surface of the form, thepreferred method being to have a dusting material suspended in thecoagulant to assist the stripping of the rubber film from the flexibleform. The addition of this material eliminates the possibility of therubber sticking to the form during curing.

InFig. 4-. a form,31, simulating a giraffe, is illustrated, showing themany types of characters or animals'which may be produced in accordancewith the present method. Attention is directed to the fact that theextension, such as 38, by which the form is supported while beingsubmerged in the liquid rubber solution, should be located at Y a. pointremote from the extensions of the animal,

such as the legs and tail, etc., so that after the form has been clippedand cured and it is desired to strip the rubber article from the theform, these extensions, produced upon the form, will be more readilyremovable. Furthermore, it is to be noted that it, is preferable, toprovide the rubber articles with'an inflating device which is located inan, extensionremote from the sealed portion throughwhich; the form isremoved.

In Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, various types of inflatable articles andtoys are illustrated which are of asubstantially flat nature, that is,types of articles which are not intended to stand unassisted. In Fig. 5a flying horse is shown, the form being indicated bythe numeral 39 andthe rubber coating indicated by the numeral 40. In this particularinstance the form 39 has a central opening '41 which provides in theresultant article a similar opening. It will be readily appreciated thatsuch an article as this could not possibly be produced according to themethods at present available, that is, in the die cut method in whichsheets of calendered rubber are employed and the adjacent edges of thesheets along the contour of the article secured together by, a

suitable adhesive which results in a substantially continuous seam. Inthis type, however, according to-the present methodthe rubber articleAil-is readily stripped from the form 39 by breaking the formalong thedotted line at the location indicated by the numeral 42, that is, alonga portion between the opening 4 Iv and the outer edge of the form.Thispermits the form 39 to be removed through theopening 43 provided inthe forward end. of the article by the. extension 44 which is formedintegral with the forward end of theform.

In Figs. 6 and '7 isillustrated an article different from thosepreviously explained and the form upon which the article is made. InFig. '7 a form 51 is shown which simulates a cat and this form has theextension 58 provided at the upper poris permittedto dry and the formwith the yellow rubber coating is'then submerged in a liquid rubbersolution of a different color, for example blue,

. up to point 60. The form with the blue rubber coating is then removedfrom the solution and permitted to dry. It is next cured in the man-'ner already stated'and after the curing operation,

but'prior to stripping from the mold 51, the face BI is printed upon thehead portion and the surface ornamentation indicated at 62' applied tothe body, portion of the rubber article. After this printing operation,the rubber article is-s'tripped from the form 51 and is in the conditionshown in Fig. 6. It should be understood that any number of colors maybe applied to the rubber article by submerging the form in any number ofcolored the paper form previously described which possesses certainadvantages in its use and is intended to be destroyed during its removalfrom the article. It has been found, however, that when large quantities"of the inflatable articles are being' manufactured the expense inmaking the forms of destructible paper or other destructible material isquite a factor in the actual cost of manufacture. I have, therefore,constructed a collapsible or flexible form made of rubber, rigid enoughto be dipped into the latex or other material, but easily removed fromthe article after the latter has been cured.

Preferably, the rubber forms are made of a tough rubber which will notbreak when flexed as, for example, a rubber made by mixing rubber andsuitable compounds in a manner well known in the rubber industry. Therubber forms may be made in a mold and may have any desired shape orthickness, or they may be blanked out from sheet rubber. V a rubber formexcept for those articles which are provided within their outline orperiphery with an opening, since it is necessary in connection witharticles of this kind to break the form on opposite sides of the openingin order to remove it from the article. An article of the type justreferred to is illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein, because of the opening 4|it is necessary tobreak the form along the line 42, as previouslydescribed.

Rubber forms may be employed for making the article shown in Figs. 1, 2,4, 6, and 7, as well as the form shown in Fig. 8. This latter formsimulates a crab and comprises a body portion 53, side extension 64integral therewith and rearwardly extending fingers 65. Formed integralwith the body 63 is an extension 66 which may be held in any suitabledevice, while the form is being dipped in the latex or other solution.Of course, a rubber form of this character may be used over and overagain with the result that an enormous saving in cost is effected.

In Fig. 9 a form is shown as provided with raised portions 15 whichserve to provide rough surfaces on the article, which surfaces later maybe printed in a manner such that the raised portions take the ink andthe portions in between do not take the ink thus making it possible tosimulate hair on the article.

A form, such as shown in Fig. 9, may be made either of paper or ofrubber. If the form isa paper form the raised portions 15 are embossedon the paper. As is well known, embossed paper is only embossed on oneside, consequently, if the form were constructed of a single sheet ofpaper the roughened surface would only be on one side with the resultthat the articles would only have a roughened surface on one side. Ifthe form is for an animal it is necessary to have the roughened effecton both sides, in which event the form would be constructed of twoembossed It will always be possible to use.

sheets of paper having their smooth sides'pasted together and leavingthe roughened surfaces on the outside of the form. If the form shown inFig. 9 is made of rubber, it would be produced'in a mold and would havethe desired thickness with the roughened surfaces upon one or bothsides, as desired.

In Fig. 10 there is illustrated a form having a depressed portion ll sothat when the form is dipped in the coagulant it will take up unequalamounts of the material and thus produce an unevenness of gauge and ofsurface in the finished rubber film causing uneven distention of thearticle When inflated. The form shown in Fig.

'10 may be formed either of paper or of rubber,

or other suitable flexible or collapsible material, as the case may be.1

As in the case of the paper forms, the rubber forms are treated in asolution to prevent the articles sticking to the forms and to facilitatetheir removal therefrom, the preferred .method beingto have a dustingmaterialsuspended in the coagulant.

It will also be noted that it will be possible after dipping any of theforms herein described in the coagulant and drying, to then superimposeon the dried coagulant by brushing, stamping or printing a film of thesame or a stronger coagulant thus securing rubber films of non-uniformgauge or thickness for the purpose of providing reenforced portionswhich, when the article is inflated, will not distend in the same manneras the rest of the article.

It is also possible to secure to either the paper or rubber forms, suchappendages as ears, horns, tails of birds, etc. In the case of paperforms the forms may be moistened and the appendages positioned thereonafter which the forms and appendages are dried in a heated mold. In thecase of the rubber form the appendages may be vulcanized or cemented tothe form, as is well understood.

While I have described the preferred embodiments of the invention, it isto be understood that I am not to be limited thereto inasmuch as changesand modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spiritof the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is: a

1. A form for use in producing by the dipping process inflatableseamless articles comprising a substantially flat, thin, flexible bodyportion provided with flexible extensions which project from the bodyportion laterally of the central plane thereof and are adapted to formappendages on the article located laterally of the central plane of thearticle when inflated.

2. A collapsible form for use in producing by the dipping processinflatable seamless articles comprising a thin, substantially flat,flexible body having an extension in the plane of the body by which itmay be supported during the clipping operation and having also flexibleextensions which project from the body portion laterally of the centralplane thereof and are adapted to form appendages located laterally ofthe-central plane of the body when the article is inflated.

3. A collapsible form for use in producing by the dipping processinflatable seamless articles comprising a thin, flexible, substantiallyfiat body portion with an extension in the plane of the body portion bywhich the form may be supported during the dipping operation andprovided also with flexible extensions projecting from the plane of thebody and adapted to form lateral appendages on the article.

4. A collapsible form for use in producing by the clipping processinflatable seamless articles comprising a thin, substantially flat,flexible body portion provided with flexible divergent extensionsprojecting laterally from the Plane of the body and adapted to formlateral appendages on the article produced on the form.

5. A collapsible form for use in producing by the clipping processinflatable seamless articles comprising a thin, substantially flat,flexible body portion having one or more extensions in the plane of thebody including an extension by which the form may be supported duringthe dipping operation and having also extensions in divergent relationprojecting laterally from the plane of the body and adapted to formlateral appendages on the article.

6. A collapsible form for use in producing by the dipping processinflatable seamless articles comprising a. thin, substantially flat,flexible body portion having flexible extensions secured to the sidesthereof-and projecting laterally iromth body portion so as to formlateral appendages on the article. Y 7

7. A collapsible form for use in producing by the dipping processinflatable seamless articles comprising a thin, substantially flat,flexible body portion with anextension in the plane of the body portionby which the form may be supported during the dipping operation andprovided also with flexible extensions which are secured to the sides ofthe. body portion and adapted 'te'form lateral appendages on thearticle, said form being produced from readily severable material.

8. A form for use in producing by the dipping process, inflatableseamless articles comprising a substantially flat, thin, flexible bodyportion provided with flexible extensions which project from the bodyportion laterally of the-central plane thereof and are adapted to formappendages on the article located laterally of the central plane of thearticle when inflated, and means for holding said flexible extensions inspaced relation.

' JOHN J LEE.

